“And it was on the eighth day, that Moshe summoned Aharon and his sons and the elders of Israel.” (9:1)
This was the first day that the Mishkan in the desert went ‘live’. Aharon and his sons – the Kohanim - had practised for seven days under Moshe’s tutelage, and were now ready to go.
Rashi, based on the Midrash, addresses the simple question: we understand that Moshe needed to call upon Aharon and his sons as they were going to be functioning as the priests, the Kohanim. But why did he need to have the Elders there?
Rashi answers that the Elders were included, “to inform them that it was by the express command of G-d that Aharon was entering into the High Priesthood, so that they should not say that he (Aharon) entered of his own accord.”
Rav Dovid Pardo in Maskil L’dovid asks how this should even have been a concern considering that for the previous seven days Aharon was kitted up with unique clothes and was being taught the correct rites by Moshe. Why else would that have happened if Aharon was not supposed to be the Kohen Gadol?
He answers that there may have been a perception that since Moshe was training everyone up in preparation for the inauguration, Moshe was supposed to be High Priest and when Aharon served on the first day, he would merely be a usurper to Moshe’s role. Therefore, to combat this potential misconception, Moshe included the Elders so that there were no illusions that Aharon was the right man for the job.
Unfortunately, we live in times where misdirection and misconception are the fodder used to keep people in line. Fake news and outright lies fuel the media cycle. False and incredible accusations are levelled at our people which result in anti Semitism and violence some taking place in countries that have to date been considered safe havens.
It is time to restore the credo of Moshe that even a hint of misconception needs to be eliminated.
